Principality of Kiev: geographical location and characteristics of government. Russian principalities of the XII-XIII centuries

THE PRINCIPALITY OF KIEV, an ancient Russian principality in the 2nd third of the 12th century - 1470. Capital - Kiev. It was formed in the process of the collapse of the Old Russian state. Initially, the Kiev principality, in addition to its main territory, included Pogorina (Pogorynie; lands along the Goryn river) and Beresteyskaya volost (center - the city of Berestye, now Brest). In the Kiev principality there were about 90 cities, in many of them separate princely tables existed in different periods: in Belgorod Kievsky, Berestye, Vasilyov (now Vasilkov), Vyshgorod, Dorogobuzh, Dorogichin (now Drokhichin), Ovruch, Gorodets-Ostersky (now Ostyor ), Peresopnitsa, Torcheske, Trepolya, etc. A number of fortified cities defended Kiev from Polovtsian raids along the right bank of the Dnieper River and from the south along the Stugna and Ros rivers; Vyshgorod and Belgorod Kievsky defended the capital of the Kiev principality from the north and west. On the southern borders of the Kiev principality, in Porosye, nomads, black hoods, who served the Kiev princes, settled.

Economy... The basis of the economic development of the Kiev principality was arable farming (mainly in the form of two-field and three-field), while the population of cities was also closely connected with agriculture. The main grain crops grown on the territory of the Kiev principality are rye, wheat, barley, oats, millet and buckwheat; from legumes - peas, vetch, lentils and beans; from industrial crops - flax, hemp and camelina. Livestock and poultry farming also developed: cows, sheep, goats and pigs were raised in the Kiev principality; chickens, geese and ducks. Gardening and horticulture are widespread enough. The most widespread trade in the Kiev principality was fishing. Due to the constant conflicts between the princes and the increase in Polovtsian raids from the middle (and especially from the last third) of the 12th century, a gradual outflow of the rural population from the Kiev principality (for example, from Porosye) began, primarily to North-Eastern Russia, Ryazan and Murom princedoms.

Most of the cities of the Kiev principality until the end of the 1230s were large centers of handicrafts; almost the entire range of ancient Russian handicrafts was produced on its territory. Pottery, foundry (making copper crosses-encolpions, icons, etc.), enamel, bone-carving, woodworking and stone-working industries, and the art of the mob reached a high level of development. Until the middle of the 13th century, Kiev was the only center of glass making in Russia (dishes, window panes, jewelry, mainly beads and bracelets). In some cities of the Kiev principality, production was based on the use of local minerals: for example, in the city of Ovruch - extraction and processing of natural red (pink) slate, production of slate spindles; in the town of Gorodek - iron production, etc.

The largest trade routes passed through the territory of the Kiev principality, connecting it both with other Russian principalities and with foreign states, including the Dnieper section of the route "from the Varangians to the Greeks", the land roads Kiev - Galich - Krakow - Prague - Regensburg; Kiev - Lutsk - Vladimir-Volynsky - Lublin; Salt and Zalozny ways.

The struggle of ancient Russian princes for dynastic eldership. The main feature of the political development of the Kiev principality in the 12th - 1st third of the 13th century is the absence in it, unlike other ancient Russian principalities, of its own princely dynasty. Despite the collapse of the Old Russian state, the Russian princes until 1169 continued to view Kiev as a kind of "oldest" city, and the possession of it - as receiving dynastic eldership, which led to an aggravation of the inter-princely struggle for the Kiev principality. Often, the closest relatives and allies of the Kiev princes received separate cities and volosts on the territory of the Kiev principality. During the 1130-1150s, two groups of Monomakhovichs played a decisive role in this struggle (Vladimirovichi - children of Prince Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh; Mstislavichi - children of Prince Mstislav Vladimirovich the Great) and Svyatoslavichi (descendants of Chernigov and Kiev prince Svyatoslav Yaroslavich). After the death of the Kiev prince Mstislav Vladimirovich (1132), his younger brother Yaropolk Vladimirovich occupied the Kiev table without any difficulty. However, Yaropolk's attempts to implement some of the provisions of the will of Vladimir Monomakh (the transfer of the sons of Mstislav the Great to the princely tables closest to Kiev, so that later, after the death of Yaropolk, they would inherit the Kiev table) provoked serious opposition from the younger Vladimirovichs, in particular, Prince Yuri Vladimirovich Dolgoruky. The weakening of the internal unity of the Monomakhs was taken advantage of by the Chernigov Svyatoslavichs, who actively intervened in the inter-princely struggle in the 1130s. As a result of these troubles, Yaropolk's successor on the Kiev table, Vyacheslav Vladimirovich, held out in Kiev for less than two weeks (22.2-4.3.1139), after which he was expelled from the Kiev principality by the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Olgovich, who, in violation of the agreements of the Lyubech congress 1097, deprived the Chernigov princes of the right inherit the Kiev table, not only managed to occupy and hold the Kiev table until his death (1146), but also took steps to secure the inheritance of the Kiev principality for the Chernigov Olgovichi. In 1142 and 1146-57, the principality of Turov was a part of the Kiev principality.

In the mid-1140s - early 1170s, the role of the Kiev veche increased, which discussed almost all key issues of the political life of the Kiev principality and often determined the fate of the Kiev princes or applicants for the Kiev table. After the death of Vsevolod Olgovich, his brother Igor Olgovich (2-13.8.1146) briefly reigned in the principality of Kiev, who was defeated in a battle near Kiev by the Pereyaslavl prince Izyaslav Mstislavich. 2nd half of the 1140s - mid 1150s - the time of open confrontation between Izyaslav Mstislavich and Yuri Dolgoruky in the struggle for the Kiev principality. It was accompanied by various innovations, including in the political life of the Kiev principality. So, in fact, for the first time, both princes (especially Yuri Dolgoruky) practiced the creation of numerous princely tables within the Kiev principality (under Yuri Dolgorukiy they were occupied by his sons). Izyaslav Mstislavich in 1151 went to the recognition of the eldership of his uncle - Vyacheslav Vladimirovich in order to create a "duumvirate" with him to legitimize his own power in the Kiev principality. The victory of Izyaslav Mstislavich in the Battle of Rut in 1151 actually meant his victory in the struggle for the Kiev principality. A new aggravation of the struggle for the Kiev principality occurred at a time after the death of Izyaslav Mstislavich (on the night from 13 to 14 November 1154) and Vyacheslav Vladimirovich (December 1154) and ended with the reign of Yuri Dolgoruky (1155-57) in Kiev. The death of the latter changed the balance of power during the struggle for the Kiev table among the Monomakhs. All Vladimirovichs died, there were only two Mstislavichs left (Prince of Smolensk Rostislav Mstislavich and his younger half-brother Vladimir Mstislavich, who did not play a significant political role), generations) Izyaslav Mstislavich - Volyn Izyaslavich and sons (later - descendants in subsequent generations) Rostislav Mstislavich - Smolensk Rostislavich.

During the short second reign of the Chernigov prince Izyaslav Davidovich (1157-1158), the Turov principality was deposited from the principality of Kiev, power in which was seized by prince Yuri Yaroslavich - who was previously in the service of Yuri Dolgoruky (grandson of the Vladimir-Volyn prince Yaropolk Izyaslavich). Probably at the same time, the Beresteyskaya volost finally passed from the Kiev principality to the Vladimir-Volyn principality. Already in December 1158, the Monomakhs regained the Kiev principality. Rostislav Mstislavich, a Kiev prince from 12.4.1159 to 8.2.1161 and from 6.3.1161 to 14.3.1167, sought to restore the former prestige and respect for the power of the Kiev prince and in many ways achieved his goal. Under his rule and the power of his sons in 1161-67 were, in addition to the Kiev principality, the Smolensk principality and the Novgorod republic; allies and vassals of Rostislav were the princes of Vladimir-Volynsky, Lutsk, Galich, Pereyaslavl; the suzerainty of the Rostislavichs extended to the Principality of Polotsk and Vitebsk. The eldership of Rostislav Mstislavich was also recognized by the Vladimir prince Andrei Yurievich Bogolyubsky. The closest relatives and allies of Rostislav Mstislavich received new holdings on the territory of the Kiev principality.

With the death of Rostislav Mstislavich, there was no prince left among the applicants for the Kiev principality who would have enjoyed the same prestige among relatives and vassals. In this regard, the position and status of the Kiev prince changed: during 1167-74 he almost always found himself a hostage in the struggle of certain princely groups or individual princes, relying on the support of the inhabitants of Kiev or the population of some lands of the Kiev principality (for example, Porosya or Pogorynya) ... At the same time, the death of Rostislav Mstislavich made the oldest among the descendants of Vladimir Monomakh the Vladimir prince Andrei Bogolyubsky (the youngest son of Mstislav the Great - Prince Vladimir Mstislavich - was not a serious political figure and was younger than his cousin). The campaign against the Kiev principality in 1169 by the troops of the coalition created by Andrey Bogolyubsky ended with a three-day defeat of Kiev (12-15.3.1169). The capture of Kiev by the forces of Andrey Bogolyubsky and the fact that he himself did not occupy the Kiev table, but handed it over to his younger brother Gleb Yuryevich (1169-70, 1170-71), indicated a change in the political status of the Kiev principality.First, now the eldership, at least for the Vladimir princes, was no longer associated with the occupation of the Kiev table (since the fall of 1173, only one descendant of Yuri Dolgoruky occupied the Kiev table - Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich in 1236-38). Secondly, since the beginning of the 1170s, the role of the Kiev veche in making key political decisions, including in determining the candidates for the Kiev table, has seriously diminished. After 1170, the main part of Pogorynye gradually entered the sphere of influence of the Volodymyr-Volyn principality. The suzerainty of Andrey Bogolyubsky over the Kiev principality remained until 1173, when, after the conflict between the Rostislavichs and Andrey Bogolyubsky, the troops of the Vyshgorod prince David Rostislavich and the Belgorod prince Mstislav Rostislavich on 03.24.1173 captured Kiev, captured the governors of the Prince of Vladimir Yaroslavl Prince Yuliavich, who reigned here for 5 weeks. The Big Nest - and the Kiev table was handed over to their brother, the Ovruch prince Rurik Rostislavich. The defeat in the fall of 1173 of the troops of the new coalition sent to Kiev by Andrey Bogolyubsky meant the final liberation of the Kiev principality from its influence.

Principality of Kiev - the sphere of interests of the southern Russian princes... For the princes of Southern Russia, the occupation of the Kiev table continued to be associated with a kind of eldership until the mid-1230s (the only exception was the attempt by the Galician-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich in 1201-05 to establish control over the Kiev principality, just as Andrei Bogolyubsky did in 1169- 73). The history of the Kiev principality in 1174-1240 is essentially a struggle for it (either subsiding, then sharpening again) of two princely coalitions - Rostislavichi and Chernigov Olgovichi (the only exception was the period 1201-05). For many years, the key figure in this struggle was Rurik Rostislavich (the Kiev prince in March - September 1173, 1180-81, 1194-1201, 1203-04, 1205-06, 1206-07, 1207-10). In 1181-94, the duumvirate of Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich and Rurik Rostislavich operated in the Kiev principality: Svyatoslav received Kiev and a nominal eldership, but the rest of the Kiev principality was ruled by Rurik. A sharp increase in the political influence of the Vladimir prince Vsevolod the Big Nest forced the southern Russian princes to officially recognize his eldership (probably in 1194 at the congress of the Kiev prince Rurik Rostislavich and the Smolensk prince David Rostislavich), but this did not change the independent position of the rulers of the Kiev principality enough. At the same time, the problem of "communion" emerged - recognized by the oldest, Vsevolod the Big Nest in 1195 demanded a "part" on the territory of the Kiev principality, which led to a conflict, since the cities that he wanted to receive (Torchesk, Korsun, Boguslavl, Trepol, Kanev ), the Kiev prince Rurik Rostislavich had previously transferred into the possession of his son-in-law - the Vladimir-Volyn prince Roman Mstislavich. The Kiev prince took away the required cities from Roman Mstislavich, which led to a conflict between them, which further only worsened (in particular, in 1196 the Vladimir-Volyn prince actually left his first wife - the daughter of Rurik Rostislavich Predslav) and largely determined the political fate of Kiev principality at the turn of the 12-13th centuries. The conflict of interests of Roman Mstislavich (who united the Vladimir-Volyn and Galician principalities in 1199) and Rurik Rostislavich led to the overthrow of the latter and the appearance on the Kiev table of Roman Mstislavich's protege - the Lutsk prince Ingvar Yaroslavich (1201-02, 1204).

1-2.1.1203 the united troops of Rurik Rostislavich, Chernigov Olgovichi and Polovtsy subjected Kiev to a new defeat. At the beginning of 1204, Roman Mstislavich forced Rurik Rostislavich, his wife and daughter Predslava (his ex-wife) to take monastic vows, and the sons of Rurik - Rostislav Rurikovich and Vladimir Rurikovich captured and taken to Galich. However, soon, after diplomatic intervention in the situation of Rostislav Rurikovich's father-in-law - Vladimir prince Vsevolod the Big Nest, Roman Mstislavich had to transfer the Kiev principality to Rostislav (1204-05). The death of Roman Mstislavich in Poland (19.6.1205) made it possible for Rurik Rostislavich to re-start the fight for the Kiev table, now with the Chernigov prince Vsevolod Svyatoslavich Chermny (Kiev prince in 1206, 1207, 1210-12). During 1212-36, only Rostislavichi ruled in the Kiev principality (Mstislav Romanovich Stary in 1212-23, Vladimir Rurikovich in 1223-35 and 1235-36, Izyaslav Mstislavich in 1235). In the first third of the 13th century, the "Bolokhov land" became practically independent from the Kiev principality, turning into a kind of buffer zone between the Kiev principality, Galician and Vladimir-Volyn principalities. In 1236, Vladimir Rurikovich ceded the principality of Kiev to Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich of Novgorod, probably in exchange for support in taking the Smolensk table.

The Mongol-Tatar invasion of North-Eastern Russia (1237-38) led to the departure of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich from the Kiev principality to Novgorod, and then to Vladimir. For the first time since 1212, the representative of the Chernigov Olgovichi, Mikhail Vsevolodovich, became the prince of Kiev. After the capture of Pereyaslavl by the Mongols (3.3.1239), the arrival of Mongol ambassadors from Tsarevich Mongke to Kiev and their murder, Mikhail Vsevolodovich fled to Hungary. According to indirect data from a number of chronicles, it can be assumed that his cousin Mstislav Glebovich became his successor, whose name was named the first among the names of three Russian princes (previously Vladimir Rurikovich and Daniel Romanovich), who signed an armistice with the Mongols in the fall of 1239. However, Mstislav Glebovich soon, apparently, also left the Kiev principality and fled to Hungary. He was replaced by the son of Mstislav Romanovich the Old - Rostislav Mstislavich, who occupied the Kiev table, probably after the death of Vladimir Rurikovich in Smolensk. Rostislav Mstislavich had no real support in the Kiev principality and was easily captured by the Galician prince Daniil Romanovich, who left in Kiev, in the face of the Mongol-Tatar threat, the thousand Dmitri for the organization of defense. After more than a 10-week siege by the main forces of the Mongol-Tatars, Kiev fell on 11/19/1240, most of the cities of the Kiev principality were taken by storm or devastated.

Principality of Kiev under the control of the Mongol-Tatars ... The defeat and devastation of cities and lands on the territory of the Kiev principality led to a strong political and economic crisis. According to the Nikon Chronicle (1520s), after the conquest of Kiev and before continuing the campaign to the west, Batu left his governor in the city. Obviously, the appearance of the Mongol authorities in Pereyaslavl and Kanev dates back to 1239-40, which was described by Karpini. One of their main functions at the first stage was the organization of the pit service and the recruitment of soldiers for the campaign against the countries of Western Europe. Already in 1241, Prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich, who returned to Russia, was forced to live not in the prince's court in Kiev (apparently occupied by representatives of another government), but on one of the islands on the Dnieper River, and then return to Chernigov. In the 1240s, he tried to unite the efforts of the Kiev principality, Hungary and the Roman curia in the struggle against the Golden Horde, Lithuania, Mazovia and the Galician prince Daniel Romanovich. The anti-Horde position of Mikhail Vsevolodovich alerted Baty, who in 1243 summoned Mikhail Vsevolodovich's long-standing political enemy, the Grand Duke of Vladimir Yaroslav Vsevolodovich, to the Horde, and gave him a label for the Kiev principality and the entire Rus land. Yaroslav Vsevolodovich did not personally rule in Kiev, but sent his governor, boyar Dmitry Eikovich (1243-46), to the city. After the death of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich (1246), his eldest sons, princes Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky and Andrei Yaroslavich, went to the Mongol Empire. In 1248, the first of them received the right to the Kiev principality, and the second - to the Vladimir Grand Duchy. This political act testified to the legal preservation of the eldership of the Kiev principality in the system of ancient Russian principalities. However, the refusal of Prince Alexander Yaroslavich to move from Novgorod to Kiev and his reign in Vladimir (1252) led to a decline in the value of the Kiev principality. This was facilitated not only by the political and economic crisis, favorable conditions for the settlement of nomads on the southern borders of the Kiev principality, but also by the establishment here of a tighter system of Horde control, which had not yet been introduced in North-Eastern Russia, and the frequent presence there, and not in Kiev principality of Metropolitan Cyril II (III). The Mongolian administration supported the desire of the princes of the "Bolokhov land" to get out of the control of Prince Daniil Romanovich, traces of the presence of its garrisons are known on the territory of some cities of Pogoryn'e, brodniks and black hoods were withdrawn from the power of the Kiev princes, as well as a number of lands along the rivers Ros and Stugna. The unsuccessful plan to seize Kiev (1254) and the defeat of Prince Daniel Romanovich in the fight against the Mongol noyon Burundai (1257-60) caused a new political crisis in the Kiev principality. In the 1260s, under Temnik Nogai, the bulk of the black hoods were resettled to the Volga region and the North Caucasus. In the liberated areas of the Kiev principality, the Mongol authorities resettled the conquered Polovtsians. On the southern borders of the Kiev principality, there was a gradual desolation of cities, even those that were not destroyed during the Mongol-Tatar invasion. In a number of cases, the fortifications of the border towns of the Kiev principality were burned and demolished, and they themselves turned into rural-type settlements (for example, Vyshgorod, Chuchin, Ivan in Rzhishchev, Voin at the mouth of the Sula, as well as settlements located on the site of the settlements explored by archaeologists near the village of Komarovka on the Dnieper, fortified settlements near the Polovetsky farm on the Ros, etc.). Certain categories of residents of the Kiev principality, primarily artisans, moved to other Russian principalities and lands (to Novgorod, Smolensk, Galicia-Volyn lands, etc.).

Information about the political development of the Kiev principality in the last third of the 13th century is associated exclusively with the activities of the Russian metropolitans Cyril II (III) and Maxim, who spent a lot of time here, and sometimes even ordained new bishops in Kiev. The gradual restoration of the Kiev principality was interrupted in the 1290s, during a fierce struggle for power in the Golden Horde between the Mongol princes and the influential temnik Nogai, to whom the Kiev principality was directly subordinate. This struggle provoked attacks by the Horde (probably the troops of Khan Tokhta) on the territory of the Kiev principality. The Horde violence also led to the flight of Metropolitan Maxim, along with the entire clergy of the St. Sophia Cathedral from Kiev to Vladimir (1299), after which, as it is said in the Laurentian Chronicle (1377), “all Kiev fled”.

In the first quarter of the 14th century, the Kiev principality was gradually reviving (this is evidenced, in particular, by the dated graffiti in the churches of Kiev, starting from 1317). At the turn of the 1320s-1930s, the younger brother of the Lithuanian prince Gediminas, Prince Fyodor, reigned in the Kiev principality, probably who occupied the Kiev table with the consent of the Horde. The institution of Basque culture was preserved in Kiev. At the same time, the jurisdiction of Prince Fyodor extended to part of the Chernigov principality, which indicates a change in the boundaries of the Kiev principality in the 1st quarter of the 14th century. The reign of Prince Fyodor in Kiev, apparently, ended no later than the 1340s. The Horde took advantage of the weakening of the position of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) in the mid-1340s - early 1350s. The next known Kiev prince according to sources was Vladimir Ivanovich (died, probably between 1359 and 1363), who came from the older (Bryansk) line of the Chernigov Olgovich dynasty and was the great-grandson of the Kiev and Chernigov prince Mikhail Vsevolodovich. It is possible that his claims were caused by the previous rule in the Kiev principality of his father - the Putivl prince Ivan Romanovich, who, like Vladimir himself, died at the hands of the Horde.

Principality of Kiev as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ... The beginning in the Horde of the "Great Zamyatny" (1359) weakened the Horde's control over the Kiev principality, and the death of Vladimir Ivanovich allowed the representative of the Lithuanian Gediminids, Prince Vladimir Olgerdovich (no later than 1367-95), to occupy the vacant Kiev table. principality of the escheated possessions of the older branch of the Olgovichi in the territory of Chernigov and Putivl regions. The reign of the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir Olgerdovich, despite the political dependence of the Kiev principality on the Golden Horde, was characterized by a noticeable military-economic and cultural upsurge in the cities and lands of the Kiev principality. In the middle - 2nd half of the 14th century, they finally entered the zone of interests of the rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Volodymyr Olgerdovich was involved in large-scale construction and reconstruction in the cities of the Kiev principality, mainly in Kiev. With the help of the military forces of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Horde were gradually pushed beyond the Dnieper River, and on the southeastern border of the Kiev principality, defensive fortifications along the Sula River were recreated. Apparently, already under the Grand Duke Vladimir Olgerdovich, the Principality of Pereyaslav (on the left bank of the Dnieper) was included in the Kiev principality. Vladimir Olgerdovich, like other Orthodox specific Lithuanian princes - his contemporaries, began minting silver coins with his name in Kiev (they were widely circulated on the territory of the Kiev principality and the Chernigov principality, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania). In the struggle for control over the Kiev Metropolitanate, Vladimir Olgerdovich supported Cyprian, who was in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1376-81 and 1382-90 and often lived in Kiev. In the winter of 1385, the daughter of Vladimir Olgerdovich married the 4th son of the Grand Duke of Tver Mikhail Alexandrovich - Prince Vasily Mikhailovich. After Jagiello's accession to the royal throne in Poland under the name of Vladislav II Jagiello in 1386, Vladimir Olgerdovich recognized the power and suzerainty of his younger brother (in 1386, 1388 and 1389 he swore an oath of allegiance to the king, his wife, Queen Jadwiga, and the Polish crown). In 1390 he supported Vladislav II Jagiello in the fight against Vitovt; together with the Kiev army participated in the siege of Grodno. In 1392, after Vitovt came to power in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vladimir Olgerdovich refused to obey him, explaining his decision by the fact that he had already taken an oath of loyalty to Vladislav II Jagiello. Another reason for the conflict was the terms of the agreement in 1392 between Vladislav II Jagiello and Vitovt, according to which the Kiev principality was to pass to Prince John-Skirgailo as compensation for the lands he lost in North-Western Belarus and the Trok principality. In 1393-94, Vladimir Olgerdovich supported the Novgorod-Seversk prince Dmitry-Koribut Olgerdovich and the Podolsk prince Fyodor Koryatovich in the fight against Vitovt. In the spring of 1394 Vitovt and the Polotsk prince Ioann-Skirgailo captured the cities of Zhitomir and Ovruch in the northern part of the Kiev principality and forced Vladimir Olgerdovich to negotiate. The princes made peace for 2 years, but already in 1395 Vladimir Olgerdovich lost the Kiev principality, and his place was taken by Prince Ioann-Skirgailo, who immediately had to besiege the cities of Zvenigorod and Cherkassy that did not obey him. In 1397, the Grand Duke of Kiev Ioann-Skirgailo was poisoned by the governor of Metropolitan Cyprian in Kiev, Thomas (Izufov). Probably, after this Vitovt essentially turned the Kiev principality into a viceroyalty, which sharply reduced the status of the Kiev principality among the ancient Russian principalities subordinate to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. At the same time, in the Kiev principality, the inheritance of insignificant princes remained, whose role was largely determined by service at the court of Vitovt (for example, the princes Glinsky). The first governors of the Kiev principality were Prince Ivan Borisovich (died in 1399), the son of the Podolsk prince Boris Koryatovich, and Ivan Mikhailovich Golshansky (died after 1401), the son of the Lithuanian prince Mikhail Olgimont. In 1399, after the defeat of the troops of Vitovt and his allies in the battle on Vorskla, the Kiev principality was attacked by the troops of the Horde rulers. Having ruined the rural district, Khan Timur-Kutlug and Emir Edigei were satisfied with 1 thousand rubles from Kiev and 30 rubles from the Kiev-Pechersk monastery; in 1416 the Horde once again raided the Kiev principality, devastating the rural district of Kiev and the Kiev-Pechersk monastery. According to the Belarusian-Lithuanian chronicles of the 1st third of the 16th century, his sons Andrei (died no later than 1422) and Mikhail (died in 1433) became the successors of I.M. Golshansky as governors of the Kiev principality.

In 1440, Kazimir Jagiellonchik, who became the new Grand Duke of Lithuania (later the Polish king Casimir IV), went on to partially revive the system of appanages in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, in particular, the Kiev principality received this status. The son of the Grand Duke of Kiev Vladimir Olgerdovich, the Slutsk prince Alexander Olelko Vladimirovich, became the appanage prince of Kiev. His reign was briefly interrupted in 1449, when the Grand Duke of Lithuania Mikhail Sigismundovich, with the support of the Horde Khan Seid-Akhmed, seized the principality of Kiev and the Seversk land. However, the joint actions of the troops of Casimir IV and the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily II Vasilyevich the Dark led to the defeat of Mikhail Sigismundovich and the return of Prince Alexander Olelko Vladimirovich to Kiev. In 1455, after his death, the Kiev principality was inherited by his eldest son Semyon Alexandrovich.

A slight increase in the status of the Kiev principality within the Grand Duchy of Lithuania contributed to the strengthening of the role of the Kiev boyars within the Kiev principality, where the Kiev princes continued the policy of distributing large and small estates to the princes and boyars who were part of their parliament, as well as to smaller boyars and servants. For large boyars who were not part of the Rada, the system of annual feeding continued to operate. Boyars took part in the collection and distribution of taxes collected in the Kiev principality, and sometimes received salaries and land from the Grand Duke of Lithuania, who was considered the ruler of the Kiev principality. In the 1450s and 60s, relations between the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Crimean Khanate were normalized, Khan Khadzhi-Girey I issued Casimir IV a label for the ownership of the Kiev principality and other lands of Western and Southern Russia.

After strengthening his positions in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland, victory in the war with the Teutonic Order, Casimir IV, taking advantage of the death of Prince Semyon Alexandrovich in 1470 and the absence of his brother Mikhail in Kiev (reigned in Novgorod in 1470-71), liquidated the Kiev principality and transformed it into a voivodeship , while in 1471 Casimir IV, with a special privilege, secured a certain autonomy of the Kiev region as part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Lit .: Lubavsky M. K. Regional division and local government of the Lithuanian-Russian state at the time of the publication of the first Lithuanian statute. M., 1893; Klepatsky P.G. Essays on the history of the Kiev land. Od., 1912. T. 1; A. N. Nasonov Mongols and Russia. M .; L., 1940; Rybakov B.A. Craft of Ancient Rus. M., 1948; Dovzhenok V. I. Farming of Ancient Pyci until the middle of the XIII century. Kiev, 1961; Umanskaya A.S. About the importance of birds in the economy of the Old Russian population of the territory of Ukraine // Apxeology. 1973. No. 10; Rapov O. M. Princely possessions in Russia in the X - first half of the XIII century. M., 1977; Dovzhenok V.O. Middle Dnieper after the Tatar-Mongol invasion // Ancient Rus and Slavs. M., 1978; Tolochko P. P. Kiev and the Kiev land in the era of feudal fragmentation of the XII-XIII centuries. K., 1980; Pashkevich G.O., Petrashenko V.O. // Archeology. 1982. No. 41; Pashuto VT, Florea BN, Khoroshkevich AL Old Russian heritage and historical destinies of the Eastern Slavs. M., 1982; Belyaeva S.A. South Russian lands in the second half of the XIII-XIV centuries. K., 1982; Rychka VM Formation of the territory of the Kiev land (IX - first third of the XII century). K., 1988; Stavisky V. I. To the analysis of news about Russia in the "History of the Mongols" by Plano Carpini in the light of her archaeographic tradition // Ancient states on the territory of the USSR: Materials and research. 1986 M., 1988; he is. “History of the Mongols” by Plano Carpini and Russian chronicles // Ibid. 1990 M., 1991; Hrushevsky M.S. Essay on the history of the Kiev land from the death of Yaroslav to the end of the XIV century. K., 1991; Hrushevsky M. S. Istopiia of Ukraine-Rus. Kiev, 1992-1993. T. 2-4; Gorskiy A.A.Russian lands in the XIII-XIV centuries: Ways of political development. M., 1996; Rusyna O.V. Kiev, 1998. T. 6; Ivakin G. Yu. Historical development of Southern Russia and Batu's invasion // Russia in the XIII century: Antiquities of the dark time. M., 2003; Pyatnov A.P. Struggle for the Kiev table in 1148-1151 // Bulletin of Moscow State University. Series 8. History. 2003. No. 1; he is. Kiev and the Kiev land in 1167-1169 // Ancient Rus: questions of medieval studies. 2003. No. 1; he is. Kiev and Kiev land in 1169-1173 // Collection of the Russian Historical Society. M., 2003. T. 7; he is. Principality of Kiev in 1235-1240 // First open historical readings "Young Science". M., 2003; Kuzmin A.V. Sources of the XVI-XVII centuries. about the origin of the Kiev and Putivl prince Vladimir Ivanovich // Eastern Europe in antiquity and the Middle Ages: Problems of source studies. M., 2005. Part 2.

A. V. Kuzmin, A. P. Pyatnov.

After a period of active “gathering” of lands and “torturing” the tribes by the Kiev princes in the 10th - first half of the 11th century. the common border of Russia in the west, south and southeast has stabilized. In these zones, not only do not new territorial annexations take place, but, on the contrary, some possessions are lost. This was due both to internal civil strife that weakened the Russian lands, and to the emergence of powerful military-political formations on these borders: in the south, the Cumans were such a force, in the west - the kingdoms of Hungary and Poland, in the northwest at the beginning of the 13th century. a state was formed, as well as two German orders - the Teutonic and the Order of the Swordsmen. The main directions in which the expansion of the common territory of Russia continued, were the north and northeast. The economic benefits of the development of this region, a rich source of furs, attracted Russian merchants and traders here, along whose routes a stream of immigrants rushed to new lands. The local Finno-Ugric population (Karelians, Chud Zavolochskaya) did not put up serious resistance to Slavic colonization, although there are separate reports of clashes in the sources. The relatively peaceful nature of the penetration of the Slavs into these territories is explained, firstly, by the small density of the indigenous population, and secondly, by different natural “niches” that were occupied by local tribes and settlers. If the Finno-Ugric tribes gravitated more towards dense forests, which provided ample opportunities for hunting, then the Slavs preferred to settle in open areas suitable for agriculture.

Specific system in the XII - early XIII century

By the middle of the XII century. The Old Russian state fell apart into principalities-lands. In the history of fragmentation, two stages are distinguished, separated by the Mongol-Tatar invasion of the 1230s – 1240s. on the ground. The beginning of this process is determined by researchers in different ways. The most reasoned opinion seems to be that the tendency to fragmentation has been clearly manifested since the middle of the 11th century, when, after the death of Yaroslav the Wise (1054), Kievan Rus was divided between his sons into separate possessions - estates. The eldest of the Yaroslavichs - Izyaslav - received the Kiev and Novgorod lands, Svyatoslav - the Chernigov, Severskaya, Muromo-Ryazan lands and Tmutarakan. Vsevolod, in addition to the Pereyaslavl land, received Rostov-Suzdal, which included the northeast of Russia up to Beloozero and Sukhona. The Smolensk land went to Vyacheslav, and the Galicia-Volynsk land went to Igor. The Polotsk land was somewhat isolated, which was owned by the grandson of Vladimir Vseslav Bryachislavich, who actively fought with the Yaroslavichs for independence. This division was subjected to repeated revision, and even smaller appanages began to form within the established territories. Feudal fragmentation is fixed by the decisions of several congresses of princes, the main of which was the Lyubech congress of 1097, which established “to keep your fatherland,” thereby recognizing the independence of the possessions. Only under Vladimir Monomakh (1113–1125) and Mstislav Vladimirovich (1125–1132) was it possible for a time to restore the primacy of the Kiev prince over all Russian lands, but then fragmentation finally prevailed.

Population of principalities and lands

Kiev principality. After the death of the Kiev prince Mstislav Vladimirovich and the acquisition of independence by Novgorod in 1136, the direct possessions of the Kiev princes narrowed to the limits of the ancient lands of the meadows and Drevlyans on the right bank and along its tributaries - Pripyat, Teterev, Ros. On the left bank of the Dnieper, the principality included lands up to Trubezh (the bridge across the Dnieper from Kiev, built by Vladimir Monomakh in 1115, was of great importance for communication with these lands). In the annals, this territory, like the entire Middle Dnieper region, was sometimes called in the narrow sense of the word "Russian land". Of the cities, in addition to Kiev, Belgorod (on Irpen), Vyshgorod, Zarub, Kotelnitsa, Chernobyl, etc. are known. The southern part of the Kiev land - Porosye - was an area of ​​a kind of "military settlements". On this territory, there were a number of towns, which began to be built back in the time of Yaroslav the Wise, who settled here the captured Poles (). In the Ros basin, there was a powerful Kanev forest and fortress towns (Torchesk, Korsun, Boguslavl, Volodarev, Kanev) were erected here thanks to the support that the forest gave against nomads, at the same time, strengthening this natural defense. In the XI century. the princes began to settle in Porosye the Pechenegs, Torks, Berendeys, Polovtsians, who were captured by them or voluntarily entered their service. This population is called the black hoods. Black hoods led a nomadic lifestyle, and in the cities that the princes built for them, they hid only during Polovtsian attacks or for wintering. For the most part, they remained pagans, and apparently got their name from the characteristic headdresses.

Cowl(from Türkic - "kalpak") - a headdress of Orthodox monks in the form of a high round cap with a black veil falling over the shoulders.

Perhaps the steppe people wore similar hats. In the XIII century. black hoods became part of the population of the Golden Horde. In addition to cities, Porosye was also fortified by ramparts, the remains of which survived at least until the beginning of the twentieth century.

Kiev principality in the second half of the XII century. became the subject of a struggle between numerous contenders for the Kiev grand-ducal table. At different times it was owned by the Chernigov, Smolensk, Volyn, Rostov-Suzdal, and later the Vladimir-Suzdal and Galicia-Volyn princes. Some of them, sitting on the throne, lived in Kiev, others considered the Kiev principality only as a governed land.

Pereyaslavl principality. Pereyaslavskaya land adjacent to the Kiev region covered the territory along the left tributaries of the Dnieper: Sule, Pselu, Vorskla. In the east, it reached the upper reaches of the Seversky Donets, which was here the border of Russian settlement. The forests that covered this area served as protection for both the Pereyaslavl and Novgorod-Seversk principality. The main fortified line ran east of the Dnieper along the border of the forest. It consisted of cities along the river. Sule, the banks of which were also covered with forest. This line was strengthened by Vladimir Svyatoslavich, and his successors did the same. The forests stretching along the banks of the Psel and Vorskla gave the Russian population an opportunity already in the 12th century. move south of this fortified line. But successes in this direction were small and were limited to the construction of several cities, which were, as it were, outposts of Russian settled life. On the southern borders of the principality also in the XI-XII centuries. settlements of black hoods arose. The capital of the principality was the city of Pereyaslavl Yuzhny (or Russian) on the Trubezh. Voin (on Sula), Ksnyatin, Romen, Donets, Lukoml, Ltava, Gorodets stood out from other cities.

Chernihiv land located from the middle Dnieper in the west to the upper Don in the east, and in the north to the Ugra and the middle course of the Oka. As part of the principality, a special place was occupied by the Seversk land located along the middle Desna and the Seim, the name of which goes back to the tribe of the northerners. In these lands, the population was concentrated in two groups. The main mass held on the Desna and Seim under the protection of the forest, and the largest cities were also here: Chernigov, Novgorod-Seversky, Lyubech, Starodub, Trubchevsk, Bryansk (Debryansk), Putivl, Rylsk and Kursk. Another group - Vyatichi - lived in the forests of the upper Oka and its tributaries. At the time in question, here, besides Kozelsk, there were few significant settlements, but after the invasion of the Tatars, a number of cities appeared on this territory, which became the residences of several appanage principalities.

Vladimir-Suzdal land. From the middle of the XI century. the north-east of Kievan Rus is assigned to the Rurik branch, which originates from Vsevolod Yaroslavich. By the end of the century, the territory of this inheritance, which was ruled by Vladimir Vsevolodovich Monomakh and his sons, included the vicinity of Beloozero (in the north), the Sheksna basin, the Volga region from the mouth of the Medveditsa (left tributary of the Volga) to Yaroslavl, and in the south it reached the middle Klyazma. The main cities of this territory in the X-XI centuries. were Rostov and Suzdal, located in the interfluve of the Volga and Klyazma, therefore during this period it was called Rostov, Suzdal or Rostov-Suzdal land. By the end of the XII century. As a result of the successful military and political actions of the Rostov-Suzdal princes, the territory of the principality occupied much wider areas. In the south, it included the entire Klyazma basin with the middle course of the Moskva River. The extreme southwest went beyond Volokolamsk, from where the borders went to the north and northeast, including the left bank and the lower reaches of the Tvertsa, Medveditsa and Mologa. The principality included the lands around the White Lake (up to the source of Onega in the north) and along Sheksna; retreating somewhat south of the Sukhona, the principality's borders went east, including the lands along the lower Sukhona. The eastern borders were located along the left bank of the Unzha and Volga to the lower reaches of the Oka.

The development of the economy here was greatly influenced by the relatively favorable natural and climatic conditions. In the Volga-Klyazma interfluve (Zalessky region), mainly covered with forest, there were open areas - the so-called opolya, convenient for the development of agriculture. Sufficiently warm summers, good moisture and fertility of the soil, forest cover contributed to obtaining relatively high and, most importantly, stable yields, which was very important for the population of medieval Russia. The amount of bread grown here in the 12th - first half of the 13th century made it possible to export part of it to the Novgorod land. Opolja not only united the agricultural district, but, as a rule, it was here that cities appeared. Examples of this are the Rostov, Suzdal, Yuryevskoe and Pereyaslavskoe opolye.

To the most ancient cities of Beloozero, Rostov, Suzdal and Yaroslavl in the XII century. a number of new ones are added. Vladimir rises quickly, founded on the banks of the Klyazma by Vladimir Monomakh, and under Andrei Bogolyubsky it became the capital of the whole land. Yuri Dolgoruky (1125-1157), who founded Ksnyatin at the mouth of the Nerl, Yuryev Polskaya on the river, was distinguished by a particularly stormy urban planning activity. Koloksha - the left tributary of the Klyazma, Dmitrov on Yakhroma, Uglich on the Volga, built the first wooden one in Moscow in 1156, transferred Pereyaslavl Zalessky from Lake Kleshchina to the Trubezh flowing into it. He is also credited (with varying degrees of validity) with the founding of Zvenigorod, Kideksha, Gorodets Radilov and other cities. Dolgoruky's sons Andrei Bogolyubsky (1157-1174) and Vsevolod the Big Nest (1176-1212) pay more attention to the expansion of their possessions to the north and east, where the rivals of the Vladimir princes are Novgorodians and Volga Bulgaria, respectively. At this time, the cities of Kostroma, Velikaya Salt, Nerekhta appeared in the Volga region, a little to the north - Galich Mersky (all associated with salt mining and salt trade), further to the northeast - Unzha and Ustyug, on the Klyazma - Bogolyubov, Gorokhovets and Starodub. On the eastern borders, Gorodets Radilov on the Volga and Meshchersk became strongholds in the wars with Bulgaria and the Russian colonization of the middle.

After the death of Vsevolod the Big Nest (1212), political fragmentation led to the emergence of a number of independent principalities in the Vladimir-Suzdal land: Vladimir, Rostov, Pereyaslavsky, Yuryevsky. In turn, smaller estates appear in them. So, from the Rostov principality around 1218, the Uglich and Yaroslavl principality stand out. In Vladimir, the Suzdal and Starodub princedoms were temporarily allocated as appanages.

Main part Novgorod land covered the basin of the lake and the rivers Volkhov, Msta, Lovati, Sheloni and Mologa. The extreme northern Novgorod suburb was Ladoga, located on the Volkhov, not far from its confluence with Lake Nevo (Ladoga). Ladoga became a stronghold of subordination to Novgorod of the northwestern Finno-Ugric tribes - Vodi, Izhora Korela () and Emi. In the west, the most important cities were Pskov and Izborsk. Izborsk - one of the oldest Slavic cities - practically did not develop. On the contrary, Pskov, located at the confluence of the Pskova with the Velikaya River, gradually became the largest of the Novgorod suburbs, a significant trade and handicraft center. This allowed him to subsequently gain independence (finally, the Pskov land, stretching from Narva through the Peipsi and Pskov lakes to the south to the headwaters of Velikaya, separated from Novgorod in the middle of the 14th century). Before the seizure of Yuryev and the Okrug by the Order of the Swordsmen (1224), the Novgorodians also owned the lands to the west of Lake Peipsi.

To the south of Lake Ilmen was another of the oldest Slavic cities, Staraya Russa. The Novgorod possessions to the southwest covered Velikiye Luki, on the upper reaches of the Lovati, and in the southeast of the upper reaches of the Volga and Lake Seliger (here, on a small Volga tributary of the Tvertsa, Torzhok arose - an important center of Novgorod-Suzdal trade). The southeastern Novgorod borders adjoined the Vladimir-Suzdal lands.

If in the west, south and southeast the Novgorod land had fairly clear boundaries, then in the north and northeast during the period under review there is an active development of new territories and the subordination of the indigenous Finno-Ugric population. In the north, the Novgorod possessions include the southern and eastern coasts (Tersky coast), the lands of Obonezhie and Zaonezhie do. The northeast of Eastern Europe from Zavolochye to the Subpolar Urals is becoming an object of penetration by Novgorod fishermen. Local tribes Permian, Pechora, Ugra were connected with Novgorod by tributary relations.

In the Novgorod lands and in their immediate vicinity, several regions arose where iron smelting took place. In the first half of the XIII century. on the Mologa the city of Zhelezny Ustyug (Ustyuzhna Zheleznopolskaya) arose. Another area was located between Ladoga and the lake in the lands of the water. Iron production also took place on the southern coast of the White Sea.

Polotsk land, which was isolated before anyone else, included the space along the Western Dvina, Berezina, Neman and their tributaries. Already from the beginning of the XII century. in the principality there was an intensive process of political fragmentation: independent Polotsk, Minsk, Vitebsk principalities appeared, appanages in Drutsk, Borisov and other centers. Some of them in the east came under the rule of the Smolensk princes. Western and northwestern lands (Black Russia) from the middle of the XIII century. depart to Lithuania.

Smolensk principality occupied the territory of the upper reaches of the Dnieper and. Of the significant cities, besides Smolensk, Toropets, Dorogobuzh, Vyazma are known, which later became the centers of independent appanages. The principality was an area of ​​developed agriculture and a supplier of grain for Novgorod, and since there was an important transport hub on its territory, where the upper reaches of Eastern Europe converged, the cities carried on a lively intermediary trade.

Turovo-Pinsk land was located along the middle course of the Pripyat and its tributaries, the Ubort, Goryn, Styr, and, like the Smolenskaya, had Russian lands on all its borders. The largest cities were Turov (capital) and Pinsk (Pinesk), and in the XII - early XIII century. here Grodno, Kletsk, Slutsk and Nesvizh appeared. At the end of the XII century. the principality broke up into Pinsky, Turovsky, Kletsky and Slutsky estates, which were dependent on the Galician-Volyn princes.

In the extreme west and south-west, independent Volyn and Galician lands, at the end of the XII century. united in one Galicia-Volyn principality. Galician land occupied the northeastern slopes of the Carpathian (Ugric) mountains, which were the natural border with. The northwestern part of the principality occupied the upper reaches of the San River (a tributary of the Vistula), and the center and southeast - the basin of the middle and upper Dniester. Volyn land covered the territory along the Western Bug and the upper reaches of the Pripyat. In addition, the Galicia-Volyn principality owned lands along the Seret, Prut and Dniester rivers until, but their dependence was nominal, since the population here was very small. In the west, the principality bordered with. During the period of fragmentation in the Volyn land, there were Lutsk, Volynsky, Beresteysky and other destinies.

Muromo-Ryazan land until the XII century. was part of the Chernigov land. Its main territory was located in the basin of the Srednyaya and Nizhnyaya Oka from the mouth of the Moskva River to the outskirts of Murom. By the middle of the XII century. the principality split into Murom and Ryazan, from which Pronskoe later emerged. The largest cities - Ryazan, Pereyaslavl, Ryazansky, Murom, Kolomna, Pronsk - were the centers of handicraft production. The main occupation of the population of the principality was arable farming, bread was exported from here to other Russian lands.

Standing out as a stand-alone position Tmutarakan principality, located at the mouth of the Kuban, on the Taman Peninsula. In the east, his possessions reached the confluence of the Bolshoi Yegorlyk with the Manych, and in the west they included. With the onset of feudal fragmentation, Tmutarakan's ties with other Russian principalities gradually fade away.

It should be noted that the territorial division of Russia had no ethnic grounds. Although in the XI-XII centuries. the population of the Russian lands did not represent a single ethnic group, but was a conglomerate of 22 different tribes, the boundaries of individual principalities, as a rule, did not coincide with the boundaries of their settlement. So, the area of ​​settlement of the Krivichi turned out to be on the territory of several lands at once: Novgorod, Polotsk, Smolensk, Vladimir-Suzdal. The population of each feudal possession was most often formed from several tribes, and in the north and northeast of Russia, the Slavs gradually assimilated some indigenous Finno-Ugric and Baltic tribes. In the south and southwest, elements of nomadic Turkic-speaking ethnic groups poured into the Slavic population. The division into lands was largely artificial, determined by the princes, who assigned certain portions to their heirs.

It is difficult to determine the level of population of each of the lands, since there are no direct indications of this in the sources. To some extent, this issue is possible on the number of urban settlements in them. According to the approximate calculations of M.P. Pogodin, in the Kiev, Volyn and Galician principalities, according to the chronicles, more than 40 cities are mentioned in each, in Turov - more than 10, in Chernigov with Seversky, Kursk and Vyatichi land - about 70, in Ryazan - 15, in Pereyaslavsky - about 40, in Suzdal - about 20, in Smolensk - 8, in Polotsk - 16, in Novgorod land - 15, in total in all Russian lands - more than 300. If the number of cities was directly proportional to the population of the territory, it is obvious that Russia to south of the line of the upper reaches of the Neman - the upper reaches of the Don was an order of magnitude higher than the northern principalities and lands.

In parallel with the political fragmentation of Russia, church dioceses were being formed on its territory. The boundaries of the metropolis, the center of which was in Kiev, in the XI - the first half of the XIII century. completely coincided with the general borders of the Russian lands, and the borders of the emerging dioceses basically coincided with the borders of the appanage principalities. In the XI-XII centuries. the centers of the dioceses were Turov, Belgorod on Irpen, Yuryev and Kanev in Porosye, Vladimir Volynsky, Polotsk, Rostov, Vladimir on Klyazma, Ryazan, Smolensk, Chernigov, Yuzhny Pereyaslavl, Galich and Przemysl. In the XIII century. Volyn cities were added to them - Kholm, Ugrovsk, Lutsk. Novgorod, which was originally the center of the diocese, in the XII century. became the capital of the first archdiocese in Russia.

Kiev principality

For the author of The Lay of Igor's Regiment, the Kiev principality was the first among all Russian principalities. He takes a sober view of the world of his day and no longer considers Kiev to be the capital of Rus. The Grand Duke of Kiev does not order other princes, but asks them to join "the golden stirrups ... for the Russian land", and sometimes as if asks: "Do you think to fly here from afar to guard your father's golden throne?" As he turned to Vsevolod Big Nest.

The author of the Lay has great respect for sovereign sovereigns, princes of other lands, and does not at all suggest redrawing the political map of Rus. When he speaks of unity, he means only what was quite real then: a military alliance against the "nasty", a single defense system, a single plan for a distant raid into the steppe. But the author of the Lay does not claim the hegemony of Kiev, since long ago Kiev turned from the capital of Rus into the capital of one of the principalities and was on almost equal terms with such cities as Galich, Chernigov, Vladimir on the Klyazma, Novgorod, Smolensk. Kiev was distinguished from these cities only by its historical glory and the position of the ecclesiastical center of all Russian lands.

Until the middle of the 12th century, the Kiev principality occupied significant areas on the right bank of the Dnieper: almost the entire Pripyat basin and the Teterev, Irpen and Ros basins. Only later did Pinsk and Turov isolate themselves from Kiev, and the lands west of Goryn and Sluch went to the Volyn land.

A feature of the Kiev principality was a large number of old boyar estates with fortified castles, concentrated in the old land of the glades to the south of Kiev. To protect these estates from the Polovtsy, as early as the 11th century, significant masses of nomads expelled by the Polovtsians from the steppes were settled along the Ros River (in the "Porosie"): the Torks, Pechenegs and Berendeys, united in the 12th century by a common name - Black Klobuki. They, as it were, anticipated the future border noble cavalry and carried border service in the vast steppe space between the Dnieper, Stugna and Ros. On the banks of the Ros, cities arose inhabited by the black nobility (Yuriev, Torchesk, Korsun, Dveren, etc.). Defending Russia from the Polovtsians, the Torks and Berendeys gradually adopted the Russian language, Russian culture and even the Russian epic epic.

The capital of the semi-autonomous Poros was either Kanev or Torchesk, a huge city with two fortresses on the northern bank of the Ros.

Black Klobuki played an important role in the political life of Russia in the 12th century and often influenced the choice of a particular prince. There have been cases when the Black Klobuki proudly declared to one of the pretenders to the Kiev throne: "We have both good and evil in us, prince," that is, that the achievement of the grand princely throne depends on them, border horsemen who are constantly ready for battle, located two days away. paths from the capital.

For half a century that separates "The Lay of Igor's Regiment" from the time of Monomakh, the Kiev principality lived a difficult life.

In 1132, after the death of Mstislav the Great, the Russian principalities began to fall away from Kiev one after another: either Yuri Dolgoruky would come from Suzdal to seize the Pereyaslavsk principality, then the neighboring Chernigov Vsevolod Olgovich, together with his Polovtsy friends, "went to fight villages and towns ... and people cut even before Kiev came ... ".

Facial image of the Grand Duke Mstislav Vladimirovich. Titular book. 1672 g.

Novgorod was finally freed from the power of Kiev. The Rostov-Suzdal land was already acting independently. Smolensk accepted princes of its own accord. In Galich, Polotsk, Turov there were their special princes. The outlook of the Kiev chronicler narrowed to the Kiev-Cher-Nigov conflicts, in which, however, the Byzantine prince, and the Hungarian troops, and the Berendei, and the Polovtsy took part.

After the death of the unlucky Yaropolk in 1139, an even more unlucky Vyacheslav sat down on the Kiev table, but lasted only eight days - he was kicked out by Vsevolod Olgovich, the son of Oleg "Gorislavich".

The Kiev Chronicle depicts Vsevolod and his brothers as cunning, greedy and crooked people. The Grand Duke continually led intrigues, quarreled relatives, bestowed distant destinies in bearish corners to dangerous rivals in order to remove them from Kiev.

An attempt to return Novgorod was not crowned with success, since the Novgorodians expelled Svyatoslav Olgovich "about his malice", "about his violence."

Igor and Svyatoslav Olgovichi, brothers of Vsevolod, were unhappy with him, and all six years of the reign were spent in mutual struggle, violations of the oath, conspiracies and reconciliation. Of the major events, the stubborn struggle between Kiev and Galich in 1144-1146 can be noted.

Vsevolod did not enjoy the sympathy of the Kiev boyars; This was reflected both in the annals and in the characterization that VN Tatishchev took from sources unknown to us: “This great prince, the husband, was tall and fat velma, had few Vlasov on his head, a broad band, large eyes, and a long nose. Wise (cunning - BR) was in the councils and courts, for whoever he wanted, he could justify or accuse him. He had many concubines and more in fun than in punishment. Because of this, the people of Kiev were a great burden to him. And as he died, hardly anyone for him, except for his beloved women, wept, and they were more happy. But moreover ... the burdens from Igor (his brother. - BR), knowing his fierce and proud disposition, were feared. "

The protagonist of "The Lay of Igor's Regiment" - Svyatoslav Kievsky - was the son of this Vsevolod. Vsevolod died in 1146. Subsequent events clearly showed that the main force in the principality of Kiev, as well as in Novgorod and in other lands at that time, was the boyars.

Vsevolod's successor, his brother Igor, the very prince of a fierce disposition, whom the people of Kiev feared so much, was forced to swear allegiance to them at the veche "in all their will." But the new prince had not yet had time to leave the veche meeting to his place for dinner, when the "Kiyans" rushed to smash the courtyards of the hated tiuns and swordsmen, which reminded the events of 1113.

The leaders of the Kiev boyars, Uleb tysyatsky and Ivan Voitishich, secretly sent an embassy to Prince Izyaslav Mstislavich, the grandson of Monomakh, in Pere-Yaslavl with an invitation to reign in Kiev, and when he with troops approached the walls of the city, the boyars threw down their banner and, as it was agreed, surrendered to him. Igor was tonsured a monk and exiled to Pereyaslavl. A new stage of the struggle between the Monomashiches and the Olgoviches began.

The clever Kiev historian of the late 12th century, Abbot Moses, who possessed a whole library of chronicles of various principalities, compiled a description of these turbulent years (1146-1154) from excerpts from the personal chronicles of the warring princes. The result is a very interesting picture: one and the same event is described from different points of view, one and the same act was described by one chronicler as a good deed inspired by God, and by the other as the intrigues of the "all-evil devil."

The chronicler Svyatoslav Olgovich carefully conducted all the economic affairs of his prince and, with each victory of his enemies, meticulously listed how many horses and mares the enemies had stolen, how many haystacks were burnt, what utensils were taken from the church and how many pots of wine and honey stood in the prince's cellar.

Particularly interesting is the chronicler of the Grand Duke Izyaslav Mstislavich (1146-1154). This is a man who knew military affairs well, participated in campaigns and military councils, carried out diplomatic assignments of his prince. In all likelihood, this is a boyar, a Kiev tysyatsky Pyotr Borislavich, mentioned many times in the annals. He leads, as it were, a political account of his prince and tries to put him in the most favorable light, to show him as a good commander, an administrative ruler, a caring suzerain. Exalting his prince, he skillfully denigrates all his enemies, showing an outstanding literary talent.

To document his chronicle-report, intended, obviously, for influential prince-boyar circles, Pyotr Borislavich made extensive use of the genuine correspondence of his prince with other princes, Kievans, the Hungarian king and his vassals. He also used the minutes of the princely congresses and the diaries of the campaigns. Only in one case does he disagree with the prince and begin to condemn him - when Izyaslav acts against the will of the Kiev boyars.

The reign of Izyaslav was filled with a struggle with the Olgovichi, with Yuri Dolgoruky, who twice managed to seize Kiev for a short time.

In the course of this struggle, Prince Igor Olgovich, a prisoner of Izyaslav (1147), was killed in Kiev by the verdict of the veche.

In 1157, Yuri Dolgoruky died in Kiev. It is believed that the Suzdal prince, unloved in Kiev, was poisoned.

During these strife in the middle of the 12th century, the future heroes of The Lay of Igor's Regiment, Svyatoslav Vsevolodich and his cousin Igor Svyatoslavich, are repeatedly mentioned. For the time being, these are third-rate young princes who went into battle in the vanguard detachments, received small cities as their inheritance and "kissed the cross at all their will" senior princes. Somewhat later, they are consolidated in large cities: since 1164 Svyatoslav in Chernigov, and Igor in Novgoro de Seversky. In 1180, not long before the events described in the Lay, Svyatoslav became the Grand Duke of Kiev.

Treasure with hryvnia money bars

Due to the fact that Kiev was often a bone of contention between princes, the Kiev boyars entered into a "row" with the princes and introduced an interesting system of duumvirate, which lasted the entire second half of the 12th century.

Izyaslav Mstislavich and his uncle Vyacheslav Vladimirovich, Svyatoslav Vsevolodich and Rurik Rostislavich were duumvir-co-rulers. The meaning of this original measure was that representatives of two warring princely branches were simultaneously invited and thereby partly eliminated strife and established a relative balance. One of the princes, who was considered the eldest, lived in Kiev, and the other in Vyshgorod or Belgorod (he was in charge of the land). On campaigns they acted together and conducted diplomatic correspondence in concert.

The foreign policy of the Kiev principality was sometimes determined by the interests of one or another prince, but, in addition, there were two constant areas of struggle that required daily readiness. The first and foremost is, of course, the Polovtsian steppe, where feudal khanates were created in the second half of the 12th century, uniting separate tribes. Usually Kiev coordinated its defensive actions with Pereyaslavl (which was in the possession of the Rostov-Suzdal princes), and thus a more or less unified line of Ros - Sula was created. In this regard, the importance of the headquarters of such a general defense passed from Belgorod to Kanev. The southern border outposts of the Kiev land, located in the 10th century on Stugna and Sula, now moved down the Dnieper to Orel and Sneiporod-Samara.

The second direction of the struggle was the Vladimir-Suzdal principality. Since the time of Yuri Dolgoruky, the northeastern princes, liberated by their geographical position from the need to wage a constant war with the Polovtsy, directed their military forces to subjugate Kiev, using the border principality of Pereyaslav for this purpose. The arrogant tone of the Vladimir chroniclers sometimes misled historians, and they sometimes thought that Kiev had completely died out at that time. Particular importance was attached to the campaign of Andrey Bogolyubsky, son of Dolgoruky, to Kiev in 1169.

The Kiev chronicler, who witnessed the three-day plunder of the city by the victors, described this event so colorfully that he created an idea of ​​some kind of catastrophe. In fact, Kiev continued to live a full-blooded life as the capital of a rich principality after 1169. Here churches were built, an all-Russian chronicle was written, the "Lay of Igor's Campaign" was created, which was incompatible with the concept of decline.

The Kiev prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodich (1180-1194) is characterized by Slovo as a talented commander.

His cousins, Igor and Vsevolod Svyatoslavich, with their haste awakened the evil that Svyatoslav, their feudal overlord, had recently managed to cope with:

Svyatoslav the formidable great Kievskiy thunderstorm Byashet frayed with his strong regiments and haraluzhny swords;

Step on the Polovtsian land;

Pritopta hills and yaruga;

Rip up rivers and lakes;

Dry streams and swamps.

And the filthy Kobyak from the onion of the sea

From the great iron regiments of the Polovtsian,

Like a whirlwind, vomited:

And everywhere Kobyak in the city of Kiev,

Svyatoslavli in the gridnitsa.

Tu Nemtsi and Venedizi, Tu Greece and Morava

They sing the glory of Svyatoslavl,

Prince Igor's cabin ...

The poet here was referring to the victorious campaign of the united Russian forces against Khan Kobyak in 1183.

Svyatoslav's co-ruler was, as said, Rurik Rostislavich, who reigned in the "Russian land" from 1180 to 1202, and then became for some time the Grand Duke of Kiev.

"The word about Igor's regiment" is entirely on the side of Svyatoslav Vsevolodich and says very little about Rurik. The chronicle, on the contrary, was in the sphere of influence of Rurik. Therefore, the activities of the duumvirs are biasedly illuminated by sources. We know about the conflicts and disagreements between them, but we also know that Kiev at the end of the XII century experienced a flourishing era and even tried to play the role of an all-Russian cultural center.

This is evidenced by the Kiev annalistic collection of 1198, Abbot Moses, which, together with the Galician chronicle of the 13th century, entered the so-called Ipatiev Chronicle.

The Kiev vault gives a broad idea of ​​the different Russian lands in the XII century, using a number of chronicles of individual principalities. It opens with the "Tale of Bygone Years", which tells about the early history of all Russia, and ends with the recording of Moses' solemn speech about the construction of a wall at the expense of Prince Rurik to strengthen the bank of the Dnieper. The orator, who prepared his work for collective performance "with one mouth" (cantata?), Calls the Grand Duke a tsar, and his principality calls him "an autocratic state ... known not only in the Russian borders, but also in distant overseas countries, to the end of the universe."

Mosaic image of the prophet. XI century Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev

After the death of Svyatoslav, when Rurik began to reign in Kiev, his son-in-law Roman Mstislavich Volynsky (great-great-grandson of Monomakh) became his co-ruler in the "Russian land", that is, the southern Kiev region. He received the best lands with the cities of Trepol, Torcheskiy, Kanev and others, which made up half of the principality.

However, Vsevolod Bolshoye Gnezdo, the prince of the Suzdach land, envied this "lefty volost", who wanted to be in some form an accomplice in the management of the Kiev region. A long-term enmity began between Rurik, who supported Vsevolod, and the offended Roman Volynsky. As always, the Olgovichi, Poland, and Galich were quickly drawn into strife. The matter ended with the fact that Roman was supported by many cities, Black Klobuki, and finally in 1202 "opened the gates for him".

In the very first year of the great reign, Roman organized a campaign into the depths of the Polovtsian steppe "and taking even more human and bringing a lot of people and souls of the Peasants are full of them (from the Polovtsy. - BR), and joy was great in the lands of Russia" ...

Rurik did not remain in debt and on January 2, 1203, in an alliance with the Olgovichi and "all the Polovtsian land" took Kiev. "And a great evil was done in the Russty of the earth, as there was no evil from the baptism over Kyev ...

Podillya took and burned; ino took the Mountain and the Metropolitan Saint Sophia plundered and the Tithe (Church) ... once the grabisha and monasteries are all and odrash icons ... then polo-zhisha all sobe is full. "Further it is said that Rurik's allies - Polovtsy hacked all the old monks, priests and nuns, and young matresses, wives and daughters of the Kievites were taken to their encampments.

Obviously, Rurik did not hope to gain a foothold in Kiev, if he so robbed him, and went to his own castle in Ovruch.

In the same year, after a joint campaign against the Polovtsy in Trepol, Roman captured Rurik and tonsured his entire family (including his own wife, Rurik's daughter). But Roman did not rule in Kiev for long, in 1205 he was killed by the Poles when, while hunting in his western possessions, he drove too far from his squads.

Poetic lines of the chronicle, which have come down to us, unfortunately, only partially, are associated with Roman Mstislavich. The author calls him the autocrat of all Russia, praises his intelligence and courage, noting especially his struggle with the Polovtsians: past their land, like the eagle; chrobor bo be, like and tour. " Regarding Roman's Polovtsian campaigns, the chronicler recalls Vladimir Monomakh and his victorious struggle with the Polovtsians. The epics with the name of Roman have also survived.

One of the chronicles that have not come down to us, used by V. N. Tatishchev, provides extremely interesting information about Roman Mstislavich. As if after the forcible tonsure of Rurik and his family, Roman announced to all Russian princes that his father-in-law would be overthrown by him for violating the treaty.

This is followed by an exposition of Roman's views on the political structure of Russia in the XIII century: the Kiev prince must "defend the Russian land from everywhere, and maintain good order in the brethren, the Russian princes, so that one cannot offend the other and run into other people's regions and ravage." The novel accuses the younger princes who are trying to seize Kiev without having the strength to defend themselves, and those princes who "bring in the filthy Polovtsy."

Then a draft of the election of a Kiev prince in the event of the death of his predecessor is presented. Six princes should be elected: Suzdal, Chernigov, Galician, Smolensk, Polotsk, Ryazan; "The younger princes are not required for that election." These six principalities should be inherited by the eldest son, but not split into parts, "so that the Russian land is not diminished in strength." Roman proposed to convene a princely congress to approve this order.

It is difficult to say how reliable this information is, but under the conditions of 1203, such an order, if it could be implemented, would represent a positive phenomenon. However, it is worth remembering the good wishes on the eve of the Lyubech Congress of 1097, its good decisions and the tragic events that followed.

V.N.Tatishchev retains the characteristics of Roman and his rival Rurik:

"This Roman Mstislavich, the grandson of Izyaslavov, was not very tall, but broad and overbearingly strong; his face was red, his eyes were black, his nose was great with a hump, his hair was black and short; the Velmi Yar was in anger; he could utter words for a long time; he had a lot of fun with the nobles, but he was never drunk. He loved many wives, but not one owned them. The warrior was brave and cunning in organizing regiments ... He spent his whole life in wars, he received many victories, but only once. - BR) was defeated. "

Rurik Rostislavich is characterized in a different way. It is said that he was in the great reign for 37 years, but during this time he was expelled six times and “suffered a lot, having no rest from nowhere. over the cities, the rulers repaired a lot of burdens for the people, for this reason he had very little love among the people and had respect from the princes. "

Obviously, these characteristics, full of medieval juiciness, were compiled by some Galician-Volyn or Kiev chronicler who sympathized with Roman.

It is interesting to note that Roman is the last of the Russian princes sung by epics; the book and popular assessments coincided, which happened very rarely: the people very carefully selected heroes for their epic fund.

Roman Mstislavich and "wise-loving" Rurik Rostislavich are the last bright figures in the list of Kiev princes of the XII-XIII centuries. Next come the weak rulers, who have not left a memory either in the annals or in folk songs.

The strife around Kiev continued even in those years when a new unprecedented danger hung over Russia - the Tatar-Mongol invasion. During the time from the Battle of Kalka in 1223 to the arrival of Batu near Kiev in 1240, many princes were replaced, there were many battles over Kiev. In 1238, the Kiev prince Mikhail fled, fearing the Tatars, to Hungary, and in the terrible year of Batu's parish, he collected feudal dues donated to him in the principality of Daniel Galitsky: wheat, honey, "beef" and sheep.

"Mother of Russian cities" - Kiev has lived a bright life for a number of centuries, but in the last three decades of its pre-Mongol history, the negative features of feudal fragmentation, which actually led to the dismemberment of the Kiev principality into a number of appanages, were too evident.

The singer of "The Lay of Igor's Campaign" could not stop the historical process with his inspired stanzas.